Are head teachers being asked to plan for social distancing in September?

[whenthejoyreturns]

Or is this just yet another rumour?

[Qasd]

I specifically asked our headteacher and she said they had no guidance at all re September although the assumption is what is available now will be what is around in September since they have not be told to expect any difference.

I think this is the crux of the rumour. The government have said social distancing until the end of the year and this has openly been said at briefings. There is therefore no reason to suggest that schools would not be included in this.

[Drivingdownthe101]

I don’t know if they’ve been specifically asked, but our head is planning for it. Which is sensible really, scenario planning is good practice.

[porktangle]

In the NHS we've been told (well my hospital anyway) that SD is here to stay long term and to expect to WFH for at least 18 months or more and that virtual appointments will be the norm.

I'd guess Headteachers are thinking something similar but surely that means long term part time education for all which is not something anyone wants to be announcing.....

[vinoandbrie]

I think the recommended social distance will decrease from the current two metres, making life easier for the schools to accommodate a larger number of children.

[DBML]

In a word. Yes.

[Waxonwaxoff0]

I think the government will want all children back by September, they're pushing for children to get back ASAP. So the bubble size will probably increase. Schools will have to prepare for part time learning though.

[Ohlordysugarandspice]

Given that we've had 40+ pieces of guidance since March related to schools, we had 48 hours notice to "close", key worker list way too late to plan anything properly, about a week notice to "reopen" (excluding a half term "holiday") do you really think the government have given schools any info about Sept No they absolutely haven't given any yet.

[whenthejoyreturns]

@Ohlordysugarandspice that’s what I expected. Just confused by people posting on MN like it’s a dead cert🤷‍♀️ Really getting on my nerves as we have no idea where we’ll be in another 12-13 weeks.

[FATEdestiny]

The Guidance head teachers are using is publically avaliable on the .gov website. There is no additional 'secret guidance, so they know as much as you do.

However, a good Head should be planning for what September might look like and for the fact that this might involve social distancing. They should be doing that planning now.

The problem arises from the Heads/schools not doing any planning for whatifs and contingencies and then when guidance is published they go "we can't possibly be ready in time, no time to plan" (see exactly what happened March to May).

[BillBaileysBum]

There’s no official directions for September yet.

[Keepdistance]

If i were a HT i wouldnt bother planning. As what happened now shows you cannot predict which way gov will go. They even ignored the scientific advice for what has gone ahead. And prioritised the economy. Which i guess you can predict maybe primaries using the secondary schools and maybe uni buildings?? To get everyone back to work.

What i would do is start reception after xmas or pt. Many 4yo find a full week too much anyway.
Our school could probably build a few prefab buildings to keep class sizes small, so thats what would happen if it were private i guess.

[Drivingdownthe101]

The point of planning is so that whatever they announce, you already have a semblance of a plan in place. So there’s no mad rush and ‘it’s not possible to plan all this in a week’. When the government announced a potential 1st June opening, our school already had a number of scenarios planned for which just needed a bit of tweaking.

[Waxonwaxoff0]

OP don't listen to people on MN who say that this or that is definitely going to happen. We all have our opinions on what MIGHT happen but the reality is that nobody knows and the situation is ever changing. Even people who work in schools don't know for sure what will happen.